Shook Guns Pt.3

Shook Guns Part 3: KaBoom!

"some days you Shook Guns, other days the Gun Shooks you..."
-ancient Chinese proverb

Sometimes you're shooting and you just have that feeling that something has gone wrong. It might be you noticed that the last shot sounded a bit louder than normal. It might be you feel as if someone just bitch-slapped you in the face. It might be the shards of metal and plastic shrapnel tearing into your flesh. Looked at collectively, you might come to the conclusion that your gun just BLEW THE FUCK UP!!!

This occurred a few days ago while doing a product demo at our outdoor training facility (aka Zombie Apocalypse Survival Camp...). Fortunately, at the time of the incident I was the one shooting, and the only other person around was one of our instructors. Had it happened 10-15 minutes earlier there would have been quite an audience, and possibly a customer shooting it (never good for business...).

In my professional opinion, this was the result of a "hot load" (no, not that kind...), where the round was loaded with more than a safe amount of gunpowder. This would create tremendous pressure upon ignition, causing the excessive amounts of gas to vent backwards faster than the bullet could clear the barrel. Unfortunately, all that metal (bolt & carrier assembly) doesn't really have anywhere to go because it is still locked into battery and can't retract in time to release the pressure. Thus, it turns into a grenade inside your receiver....

While it might not be obvious to the casual observer, the above picture shows the 2" x 1/2" chunk of metal missing from the bottom of the carrier which sheared through the lower receiver and magazine. It landed neatly between my feet. You can also see the "swollen" curve of the upper receiver, especially near the port door assembly.

Various carnage pics:




I've contacted the manufacturer of the ammunition, who promptly sent a UPS call tag for the remains along with the rest of the ammo. I'm awaiting their verdict before I get too excited about the new gun they are going to be buying for me...

Overall, I was definitely a bit Shook when it occurred, but I only sustained minor injuries. As far as guns blowing up goes, it really couldn't have turned out much better. Although I was certainly done shooting for the day after it happened, I was back in competition 3 days later. Statistically, there are going to be bad rounds floating around in otherwise good lots of ammo. I just happened to get the 1 in a million double-charged round. It's no different from crashing your bike...you take a few days off, heal up, and then go back at it (...like a Boss!)

I will post updates when I hear back about how the ammo company is going to handle it.

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